Favorite Florida Destination besides Orlando!

tinkerdorabelle

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 7, 2001
Messages
2,951
Other than Orlando, where else do you vacation in Florida? Any other favorite places and why? :cool2: Please include favorite resort/hotel, beach, or whatever it is that draws you to that place. Thanks all.
 
My mom's house. The beds are comfy, the food is good, and she always gives us a 100% discount off the rack rates. Her pool is just a sprinkler, but I'm not into the pool scene anyway.
 
The only place I've ever been to in Florida besides Orlando is Miami, on a cruise. We only stopped for the day and I did Parrot Jungle Island. It was awesome but I didn't really get to see much of the city!

Oh and I was in Ft. Lauderdale when I was 7 but I don't remember much...
 
I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and still love it down there. It's relaxing, there's tons to see and do, and I love all the shops and restaurants on Las Olas Blvd. :lovestruc
 

Sanibel/Captiva Islands,
Naples ( visit my folks, but awesome beach too)
Key West
Longboat Key/ Siesta Key

I like Southern Fl for the tropics...I prefer the gulf side as it is less hectic, more family friendly...they Keys, more adult, but kids can have a blast too, but requires research on which resort/hotel to choose. Not as many beach choices at the Keys, but lots to do on the water.
 
We love to stay at the Disney Resort in Vero Beach. Beautiful!!
 
I go to college in Daytona, which is fun... I'll be leaving as soon as I graduate. It's a fun place to visit, but I wouldn't live here permanently.
 
We have a Marriott timeshare on Singer Island, Palm Beach Shores. We absolutely love it there and try to go once or twice each year. Not much to do but swim, eat, read books, eat, go to the movies, and eat. :thumbsup2
 
St Augustine. We enjoyed the history, the shopping, the beaches... It's a nice town, well-located, with plenty to do.
 
Naples. but my family has a place so I don't know much about the Resorts or hotels. But the Beach & tennis club looks nice, People rave about LaPlaya.

Kae
 
Sanibel....my new favorite place to hide a few days.
 
I live in the Tampa area, but my favorite place to visit is in the panhandle. It's where my avatar pic was taken.

http://www.sowal.com
 
I love the Keys, but I haven't been there in over 10 years and then we camped. I'm not into camping anymore!

I wonder if Key West has changed..I hope not.
 
SO MANY great places in Fla.

St. Augustine
Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater
The Keys
Palm Beach area
Fort Lauderdale area
Cape Canaveral
 
Key West is our other Florida destination. We've stayed at the Best Western Hibiscus which was fine and a good deal price-wise. Next time we would like to rent within the Truman Annex.
 
I enjoy Sanibel. I like that the people who care about it have controlled the development and have reserved a huge amount of the island for wildlife. I love the shelling, the sunsets from the beach, taking dolphin cruises, the white sand, the stingrays in November, the restaurants, the cycling, the alligators, watching the pelicans fly in formation along the beach, the quiet little cottages... I like gawking at the houses on Captiva and looking for manatees (I have only seen one on Captiva but I keep looking). I like that it isn't ridiculously overpriced.
 
Sanibel Island
DeFuniak Springs and my FIL house
Daytona Beach
Ft Meyers

South Florida isn't a vacation for me.
 
My mom's house. The beds are comfy, the food is good, and she always gives us a 100% discount off the rack rates. Her pool is just a sprinkler, but I'm not into the pool scene anyway.

That is always a good destination. The food service is very good as well, I find.


In all seriousness, you can't go wrong with St. Augustine - wonderful Spanish colonial architecture, shops, restaurants, a large Spanish fort (and a second smaller one nearby), a lighthouse, beaches, boat trips, etc. Jacksonville is a 45 minute drive to the north and has plenty of its own right (a few nice museums, a great zoo, some very nice historic sites, beaches, outdoor nature areas), and Daytona is only a 30 minute drive south and there is plenty in that area as well.

Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater is a nice destination (we actually honeymooned there). Museums, zoos, aquariums, theme parks, water parks, beaches, shopping...

The keys are lovely, though I would avoid staying on Key West and stay somewhere in the middle around the Marathon vicinity and use Key West as a day trip destination. I can only tolerate Key West proper in small doses.

The southwest coast has many beautiful beaches and barrier islands - not as much to do activity wise as some other areas, but certainly beautiful and relaxing and generally not quite as crowded with tourists.

Panama City and other panhandle area beaches such as Destin and San Destin have nice beaches as well.
 
Renting a cottage in Seaside http://seasidefl.com/vacation_and_groups.asp

Sanibel & Captiva Islands

St Augustine (Casa Monica Hotel, or the new Hilton)
http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/USTHDHF-Hilton-St-Augustine-Historic-Bayfront-Florida/index.do

Amelia Island (Ritz Carlton, Amelia Island Plantation http://www.aipfl.com/

I want some of your salary! :lmao: If you can afford more than a few days at a time in places like those you are doing quite well indeed. (More power to ya'.) :goodvibes
 


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